The Shift
by DeeBee7
Summary: On a school excursion to the Olympic National Park, one night can sometimes feel like a lifetime...
1. Chapter 1

**Hi everyone, welcome to my new story!**

**This tale is nothing at all like my last, so I look forward to hearing what you all think of it. **

**Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight. I own a notebook and a smart phone.**

**:-D**

EPOV

"Okay everyone, can I have your attention for a moment," Mr Molina says, drawing our attention to where he stands beside the bus. "I just want to go over athe rules again before we leave."

I quickly pull a small notebook and pen from my pocket. Not everyone in our class seems to be paying attention so I'm confident that they will all appreciates me taking notes for them.

"Now as this is a school excursion, the same rules will apply. No smoking, no alcohol, no drugs. I reserve the right to search your packs if I suspect that you're in possession of any contraband. Understand?"

I roll my eyes and agree, obviously no-one is going to be drinking and doing drugs. With all the amazing things to see and study in the Olympic wilderness that we will be exploring, who needs to. Judging by the chuckles from my classmates behind me, I'm not the only one who thinks that rule is unnecessary and downright silly.

"Great," Mr. Molina continues. "As we will be hiking in a national park, it is important that we stick to the marked trails in order to protect the natural flora and fauna, and so that nobody gets lost, we need to stay as a group. That means no wandering off on your own and if for any reason someone needs to stop, we all have to stop. Remember that this is an overnight trip, so I expect you all to behave appropriately...Any questions?"

Nobody responds, so he quickly directs us to board the bus. Being courteous as always, I stand back and wait my turn. When I finally make my way done the aisle there are only two seats left. One is beside Bella Swan, the other is being fiercely protected by my best friend Jasper. Lurking in the aisle next to him is my twin sister Alice.

Ever since Jasper and I became friends, Alice has been following him around like a lost puppy. I often tease him about it but the older we get, the more terrified Jasper seems of her.

"Edward, quick! I saved you a seat," Jasper says frantically. I glance sadly at the other empty seat as I sit down next to Jasper. This could have been my opportunity to get closer to Bella, but I can't let my best friend down. Bros before hoes after all.

Not that Bella is a ho. Because she's not.

She's kind...

And beautiful...

And she always smells nice...

And she is way out of my league.

"I was going to sit there," Alice whines. She looks different than she did when we left the house this morning.

"Did you change clothes?" I ask. "Wait...are you wearing make-up?"

"No!" she shrieks, blushing furiously as she stomps over to Bella and sits down. I chuckle, turning to Jasper to see if he's laughing at Alice too. He's not. He's looking out the window now, blushing almost as much as she is. Weird...

With everyone settled, the door closes and we are on our way, off to explore the Olympic National Park. Although this will be my first real camping trip, as my parents are not fond of outdoor activities, I have spent weeks studying books about the region and learning wilderness survival skills in preparation.

As this excursion is mandatory, our entire senior biology class is going. Looking around at everyone, I don't think I've ever seen such a diverse range of students on one bus before.

Towards the front of the bus sit Bella, Alice, Angela Weber and her boyfriend Ben Cheney. As well as working on the school newspaper, they are also responsible for organising every school dance, fundraiser and pep rally. They are truly the engine that keeps our little school running.

Across the aisle from me are Eric Yorkie and Tyler Crowley, quite possibly the happiest people in Forks. I always see them smiling and laughing, even now. They must be really excited to go on this trip, as I often see them coming out of the woods behind the school smelling of damp and smoke. Maybe after I've put my wilderness skills into practice, they might ask me to join them one day.

At the back of the bus sit the jocks and their groupies. I say groupies because although our school is big enough to field a football team, there is no official cheerleading squad. So the popular girls, Jessica Stanley, Rosalie Hale and Victoria Sutherland, follow the team from game to game as their unofficial cheerleaders. They must take their supportive role seriously as I've witnessed them being affectionate, even intimate, with all the members of the team at one time or another, sometimes at the same time.

The jocks in our class, Emmett McCarthy, James Witherdale, Mike Newton and Laurent De Revin, are really great guys, always pulling pranks on me at school. Like the time they glued all my books into my locker, that was a good one. Or the time after gym when they stole all my clothes? Hysterical! I'm constantly thinking of a great way to prank them back. I bet they'd love that, those crazy practical jokers. Sure, not everyone appreciates their sense of humor, but as the principal always says, "boys will be boys".

Finally, there's Jasper and I. We don't really fit into any group, but I like to think that we're friends with everyone. We met in the nurses office on the first day of the fifth grade, I had gotten a nosebleed and he was recovering from an asthma attack. Bonding over our shared love of video games and comics, we've been best friends since.

The aged bus slowly grinds to a halt outside the visitors center and everyone clambers to get out when the doors finally open. We gather our packs and maps, and with some last minute instructions, Mr. Molina leads us towards the marked path to our campsite.

**Well there you have it, the first chapter...**

**But I'm thinking that there are WAAAY too many characters. So I'd like to know who you would get rid of? And why? The most popular (or should I say unpopular) choice will be taken out...literally!**

**:-D**


	2. Chapter 2

**Welcome back, readers!**

**So, it seems that no-one really dislikes any characters enough to want them out of the story. Surprising? Yeah a little but at least you can't complain if I get rid of your favourites. Right?**

**Special thanks to sportress, panda7700, AlexaGrace, lantus123, kneon, Edlovesme & duralast406 for fav'ing, following or reviewing this story. You all inspire me to continue writing.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight. I do own an excessively large collection of handbags.**

**:-D**

EPOV

No book that I've ever read or documentary that I've seen could possibly prepare me for how amazing the rainforest actually is.

The tops of the giant cedars tower high above our heads are barely visible through the dense canopy created by the lower spruce and firs. The moss and lichen on their trunks add to the breathtaking sea of green around us. I don't think I've ever seen so many shades of one color.

In the distance I can faintly hear running water and a flock of birds calling to each other. It sounds exactly like one of my mothers relaxation CDs.

"Ugh, my feet are so sore. Can we stop now?"

Except for that.

"Jessica we've only been walking for two hours and we have already stopped three times," Mr Molina explains patiently. "We'll be at the campsite soon, you can rest then."

"But I'm tired," she whines. Thankfully he choses to ignore her and continues walking.

The plan was to reach the camp before lunch, but it's almost one o'clock now and we don't seem to be getting any closer. Thanks to broken nails and ill-fitting shoes, a two hour hike will probably take us four.

Not that I really mind. I'm happy to walk at a leisurely pace and appreciate my surroundings.

And Bella.

Because she's walking in front of me.

And her jeans are so tight...

"Aaaaaarh!" A piercing scream from behind suddenly startles me from my fantasising. I turn to look so fast that I almost take Jasper out with my pack.

Angela is sitting on the ground clutching her right arm to her chest. Ben looks completely helpless as he kneels on the damp leaves beside her.

"What happened?" Mr Molina calls as he rushes by me. He crouches down next to a crying Angela and gingerly inspects her injury.

"She slipped on a patch of mud," Ben explains. "I tried to grab her but I was too late."

Angela shakes her head and tries to console him but I can tell that he blames himself. I know I would if I were in his shoes.

"Well, it looks like your wrist is broken," Mr Molina says. "We'll have to go back."

"No," Angela cries. "I don't want everyone else to miss out because of me."

"Good," Rosalie pipes up. "I don't want to walk all the way back just because you can't walk upright like a normal person."

"Enough!" Mr Molina shouts. "I'll take Angela back down to the visitors center while you all continue on to the campsite."

"I'm going back with Ange," Ben says as he wraps his arm around his girlfriend and helps her to her feet.

"Aaaw, that's so sweet," Victoria coos, affectionately stroking James' arm. "Would you do that for me, baby?"

"Depends," James shrugs. "If I had to miss this? Sure. But if it was the first game of the season or something, then you're on your own doll-face."

Bella and Alice step forward to give Angela a gentle hug as Mr Molina hands me his first-aid kit.

"I'm leaving Edward in charge," he tells the group. "And I expect you all to act responsibly and respectfully."

He's leaving me in charge? Me? I've never been in charge of anything before, but I'm eager for the opportunity to prove my leadership ability. Maybe even impress a certain beautiful brunette.

I wait until Ben, Angela and our teacher disappear into the forest before turning to address my new charges.

"Okay everyone, let's set off," I yell enthusiastically, confident that I have earned the respect of my peers.

"Fuck you, Ed-weird."

Maybe not.


	3. Chapter 3

**Hello readers! **

**This will be the second of three chapters this week, which will hopefully be posting schedule until next month when life gets super busy for me.**

**Huge thanks to jented777, Micahcupcake, lantus123, VioletDream13 & Beertjes for fav'ing, following and reviewing the last chapter. I'm excited to have you all join me on this little adventure.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight. I do own a very old, very deaf but oh so lovable cat.**

**:-D**

EPOV

I quickly realise that an unsupervised hike with a group of teenagers is not the best setting to practice my abilities as a leader.

As we reach the site, almost everyone ignores my instructions to set up camp and immediately break off into their groups to relax. No amount of motivational words and encouragement can convince them to do anything other than sit and eat. I decide that the best thing to do is to lead by example.

After a quick game of scissors-paper-rock with Jasper to decide who gets to set up our tent, I empty the poles and get to work while Jasper boils water for our instant noodle lunch. My weeks of practice pay off when I get the tent assembled in record time. The jocks are smiling and laughing in my direction when I stand back to admire my handiwork. I knew that they'd be impressed.

"Umm...Edward?" I turn to find a nervous Alice standing behind me.

"What do you want Alice?" I sigh. I warned her at home that if she wasn't going to practice, I wasn't going to help her put her tent up.

"Angela was carrying our tent," she says, gesturing to where Bella stands a few feet behind her.

"Okay," I say slowly. I don't know why she feels the need to tell me this. She should just get the tent off Angela and- "Oh..."

"Yeah," Alice says weakly.

"Why didn't you get it off her before she left?"

"I wasn't thinking, everything happened so fast."

Her bottom lips starts to tremble and I can see tears in her eyes. I wish Mr Molina would hurry back. I'm in no way equipped to deal with a crying girl, even if she is my own sister.

"It's okay," I tell her, hoping she won't make a scene. "Just wait until Mr Molina gets back, he'll know what to do."

"But what if he doesn't make it back before dark? We can't sleep out here," she cries, hysterically waving her hands around. "What about the bears? The wolves? We'll get eaten!"

I look away from Alice, trying not to laugh. Because she's already crying and that would be cruel, but there are no bears or wolves in this area so the most dangerous creature that she could be attacked by are mosquitoes.

And then I see Bella nervously worrying her plump rosy bottom lip with her teeth. I realise then that if I leave Alice to sleep outside, I'll be leaving Bella too. The gentleman in me could never let that happen.

"If he doesn't make it back before dark, then..." I pause, watching Jasper from the corner of my eye. He's slowing shaking his head like he knows exactly what I'm goin to say. "...you can share our tent."

"Really? Thank you so much Edward. You're the best brother ever," she squeals before running back to tell Bella.

"Why did you do that?" Jasper groans.

"Look, I know that it's going to be uncomfortable for you-"

"Uncomfortable!" he hisses. "It's going to be a total freaking nightmare."

"I know, I know. But it's only one night, please? It's Bella, man. Bella Swan! Please?" I'm so desperate right now it's pathetic, but Jasper knows how long I've waited for this moment. I'm praying he'll let me have my chance.

"Fine...but you owe me. Big time," he sighs. He's obviously not happy and I'm surprised that he gave in so quickly, but I'm too excited to dwell on it.

With a painfully wide smile on my face, I start loading our gear into the tent that Bella and I will be sharing tonight.

With my best friend...

And my sister...

Maybe my personal celebration was a little premature.

As the hours tick by, tents are erected, meals are eaten and the sun slowly sinks below the trees.

But there is still no sign of Mr Molina.

And I've completely lost control of our group.

There is smoke and laughter coming from Eric and Tyler's tent. When I attempted to remind them of the rules about smoking, I was told to go away. Only not in those words. I made a record of their behavior in my notebook to show Mr Molina when he finally returns.

The jocks and groupies have joined their three tents together to make one giant tent. I don't know if that is against the rules, but considering that Jasper and I are sharing our much smaller space with two girls, I decide not to intervene. Though I do attempt to lecture Emmett about throwing his apple core into the forest.

I don't think he appreciated my reminder, but I did hear him telling the others about food and killing animals, so I'm glad that he helped me by passing the message along.

After playing cards and, in Jaspers case, postponing the inevitable, we join the girls inside. Bella and Alice are curled up, sleeping in the middle of the tent, leaving our sleeping bags rolled out at their sides. It makes me giddy to see my bag beside Bella, but I don't think Jasper shares my enthusiasm when he sees his bag near Alice.

We quietly crawl into our sleeping bags and settle down to sleep. Bellas's scent surrounds me as I relax into the warmth of my bedding.

"Goodnight Jasper," I whisper, careful not to wake my sleeping beauty.

"Night," he slurs sleepily.

Just as I begin to drift off, I feel Bella roll over. I think I might be dreaming when I feel her tiny body curl into my side, her hand resting on my chest.

"Goodnight Edward," she sighs.

Yep...definitely dreaming.


	4. Chapter 4

**Hi everyone!**

**This is the last chapter for this week, but I've already got the next two written so who knows, I may still post tomorrow.**

**Special thanks go to Twi-Die-Hard88, charrae, VioletDream13, Strong-till-the-end, TexasRae & jadedghost22 for their response to this story and the last chapter. Every email brightens my day!**

**:-D**

EPOV

_"Mmm...Bella," I moan, watching her perky and perfect breasts bounce as she slides herself up and down on my cock._

_Bracing her hands on my shoulders, she leans forward to kiss me. Our tongues follow the rhythm of our bodies as they slide against each other. I never want to stop kissing her. I mean, who needs oxygen when I have my Bella. I can survive on her alone._

"Edward."

_The air around us smells like her. Strawberries and freesia. My eyes roll back into my head and my hips buck frantically upward, driving into her harder and faster._

_She's so tight and so wet, and I'm so close._

_"Oh god, Bella."_

"Edward?"

_Just the sound of her sweet voice saying my name is enough to send me over the edge. My body twitches and shudders as I come deep inside her._

"Edward!"

My eyes snap open at the tone of her voice. She sounds kind of angry and I don't know why, I thought what we did was pretty amazing. She's staring down at me now like I've grown another head.

Then I notice that something's not right.

Her hair is no longer flowing around us, it's pulled back in a messy bun.

And we're in a tent and not in my bed.

And she's fully clothed.

I've always prided myself on being an intelligent guy, yet it takes me an unusually long time to realise that Bella Swan, the girl of my dreams, has just watched me jizz in my pants.

I don't know whether I should be turned on or completely disgusted with myself. Judging by the look on her face, I'm leaning more towards the latter. Her face is bright red and her eyes are comically wide. If I had to name her expression, I would say horrified.

Then, as if things couldn't get any more embarrassing, Jasper decides that now is the perfect time to charge inside the tent.

"Come on Edward, get up," he says hurriedly. "You have to come see something. Come on, come on!"

"Stop saying come!" I shout, mortified that he is unknowingly making this uncomfortable situation so much worse. Bella sputters to life at my outburst and rushes out of the tent before I can apologise.

"Right, so can you...ah..._venture _outside?" Jasper asks, completely oblivious. "There's something you really need to see."

I nod and wait for him to leave before quickly cleaning myself up and changing. I consider ignoring Jaspers request, crawling back into my sleeping bag and pretending that the last few minutes never happened.

But they did, so I have no choice but to face what's waiting for me outside.

Jasper, Alice and Bella are standing by the edge of the forest when I approach. Their eyes are trained on something in the distance. From further away it looks like a pile of rubbish, just rotten timber and rusted metal, but as I get closer I can see that it's actually the remains of an old building.

"What is it?" I ask as I stop beside Jasper. He hands me a copy of the map that we were given when we arrived at the park yesterday. Our campsite is clearly marked, as are the trails leading to and from it. I look from the map to Jasper, trying to understand his point.

"It's the toilet," he says without taking his eyes off the collapsed structure. Stepping through the thick ferns and trees, I examine the pile of rubble closely. There's just no way that it could be the same bathroom that I had used just last night. I can see moss growing on the wood and there are holes in the tin where rust has eaten through it. It's clearly been been here for years, decades even.

I run back to the campsite, clutching the map tightly in my hand. The forest all around us looks different, bigger and denser. The paths marked on the map, the very same paths that we had walked only yesterday are nowhere to be seen, instead there are just trees, trees and more trees. My breath grows shallow and my heart starts to race, I feel like I'm on the verge of a panic attack.

And then I see it. Something that definitely wasn't there yesterday...

Hidden deep beyond the tree line, amongst the native plants, stands one lone apple tree.


	5. Chapter 5

**Hi everyone!**

**I know that some of you may be a little confused last chapter. I wish I could console you, but this story is gonna get a whole lot more confusing. Sorry...**

**If anyone has any theories, I would love to hear them. I value everyones opinions no matter how out-there they are.**

**Super thanks go to MidnightWinter76986, venombelladonna & supermommy1 for fav'ing and following, and VioletDreams13 & Edlovesme for their continued reviews. This story is for you guys.**

**:-D**

EPOV

"What the fuck is going on out here?" a deep voice calls from the far end of the campsite.

Apparently my panicked screams and manic pacing has woken the others.

I turn to face them as they emerge from their tents, shielding their eyes from the bright morning sun.

"Look!" I yell, pointing at the foreign tree.

"Oh my god," Mike snickers as he turns to his friends. "Look guys, it's a tree! Hey look over there, there's another one. Oh and another, and another." He turns back to me. "We're in a forest, dipshit. There are trees everywhere."

"Not apple trees," I argue. "Apple trees aren't native to this area, they're not even native to this continent. Someone planted that there."

"Big deal," he sighs. "So someone planted a fucking tree, still doesn't explain why you're freaking out about it."

"Because it wasn't there last night!" I scream. My voice is high-pitched and hysterical but I'm beyond caring. No-one seems to understand that trees just don't appear out of nowhere and it would require heavy machinery to move a tree of that size, machinery that would have definitely woken us all up.

"Okay, I'm too hungover to deal with your special brand of crazy right now, Cullen," Emmett says, rubbing his tired face with his hands. "Where's Molina?"

"Not here," Bella says quietly. It's the first time I've heard her speak since our...encounter...earlier.

"What?" Emmett asks rudely. If he wasn't three times my size and able to snap me in two, I'd consider punching him for taking to Bella like that. Or maybe I'd just give him a stern talking to.

"He's not here," Jasper confirms. "He never came back."

"Right...so we have magical trees, a freaked out weirdo and a teacher that's M.I.A.," Emmett says. "I say we pack our shit and head home."

Personally I'm a little offended about being referred to as a weirdo but he does have a point. We need to leave as soon as possible and try to put this whole bizarre discovery behind us.

It's not until we are all packed up and ready to leave the campsite that I realise what will possibly be the first of many flaws in Emmett's plan. The trails that we need to walk to return to the visitors center are gone.

"What the fuck?" Emmett asks, completely perplexed. Nice to know I'm not the only one.

"I know," I reply. In the rush to get the neck out of here, I had completely forgotten about the paths being replaced by more trees.

"Well then, oh wise one, you wanna tell us how the hell we're supposed to get back?" he says. I think I can detect a hint of sarcasm in his voice but wise one is definitely a step up from weirdo.

I reach into my pack and pull out the compass that I had purchased from the camping goods store when I bought my other equipment. My father had laughed when I'd shown him, telling me that we would be hiking on marked trails and would never need to use a compass. Now I can't wait to get home to tell him how my foresight had saved myself and my classmates from being lost forever in the wilderness.

"Well aren't you just a regular little boy scout," James says as he snatches the compass from my hand. I want to argue that my mother had never allowed me to join any scout troop but I like that he thinks I have useful skills. James turns the compass around trying to find the right direction. "So how does this thing work?"

"You can see from the map that we need to head north northeast. So if we point the comp-"

"Why don't you just point us in the right direction, okay?" he interrupts, handing the compass back to me.

"Wow, thanks James," I say. Although all the jocks always make an effort to include me in their shenanigans, James has never been exactly friendly towards me, so I'm incredibly proud that he would hand me the responsibility of guiding us home.

I'm not entirely surprised though, I am the appointed leader after all.

After taking a few minutes to find the most appropriate starting point, I begin directing our group back through the forest.

This time they follow without complaint.


	6. Chapter 6

**Happy Friday the 13th everyone! Mwaah-ha-ha...**

**Scary big thanks to elliefrog, VioletDreams13, escarlet 12, checkers, BriCalgary & Molly01 for fav'ing and following this story (&ME!) and reviewing. You make writing this story worthwhile.**

**So elliefrog & VioletDreams13 has some ideas about what is happening in this story. Aliens? Magical nymphs? Sneaky prankster teacher? Great ideas, absolutely. I'd love to see them developed actually, but sadly...no, none of those are in this story. Keep the ideas coming, I know that someone can work it out!**

**And to the anonymous guest reviewer: Yeah...I kind of love this brand of Edward too.**

**:-D**

EPOV

Unfortunately after three hours of wandering in the forest, the complaints started again. I suppose I should be grateful that they held out that long.

"How much further?" Victoria moans. She has been asking the same question repeatedly for the past fifteen minutes. At this stage I'd almost be disappointed if she didn't ask.

"I don't know," I say. It's the only honest thing I can say.

"Just face it, man," Tyler sighs. "We're lost."

"We're not lost."

It's a lie. We are totally lost.

I don't understand how it happened. The compass has steadily pointed us in the direction of the visitors center yet we still haven't reached it. Judging by the length of time elapsed and the pace that we are walking at, we should have reached it almost an hour ago.

But we haven't.

And I'm scared to tell my classmates.

They had trusted me to lead them back and I had failed. Maybe it would have better for us to have stayed at the campsite. Sure it was creepy and what happened was beyond all explanation, but if someone were to start looking for us, they would start their first. Sadly, if we were to turn back now, we would probably end up more lost than we already are.

I am about to suggest that we take a break and eat what we have left of our food, when I notice a gap in the trees ahead. I'm so relieved that I could cry. We were never really lost, my calculations must have been wrong.

Not that I intended to tell anyone that either.

My relief is short lived. There is no building in sight, just a road. A road that hasn't been used in so long that there are ferns and grass growing from its many cracks. It's unusual to see such a long stretch of roadway in a state of disrepair. I try to remember if there have been any new highways built in the last fifty years that would allow this one to be abandoned completely.

I'm so distracted by the old road that I don't see the attack coming. One minute I'm standing on two legs, the next I'm sprawled out on the asphalt with an angry giant standing over me.

"What the fuck is this, huh?" Emmett shouts. I'm as terrified by his words as I am by the unhygienic saliva flying out of his mouth. "Where the hell are we?"

He grabs me by the front of my shirt before I can answer and slams my head down on the hard surface. My eyes feel wet but I'm definitely not crying. He must have just spat in my eyes or something.

Yeah...that's what happened.

"Hey, get off him!" Jasper yells. My vision is blurry but I can see Eric, Jasper and Tyler trying to pull Emmett off me. When they manage to pry him away, I'm surprised to see Bella rush to my side.

"Oh my god, Edward. Are you okay?" She asks sadly. I'm touched to see her so worried about me but I feel humiliated that I couldn't defend myself.

Her fingers gingerly touch the back of my head before I move away from her. As much as I want to feel her hands on me, the pain in my head is unbearable.

"I'm fine," I murmur, easing myself to my feet again. I can tell that she doesn't believe me, which is fine because I'm lying through my teeth. I'm in agony. Thankfully she turns her attention to Emmett.

"How could you do that to him?" Bella shrieks, getting far too close to him for my liking, yet apparently my damaged brain sees it differently. I've always found Bella attractive but watching her defend me...so, so hot.

"Me?" Emmett roars. "He's the one who got us lost in the fucking forest, then led us to an abandoned road. This is like every god damn horror movie ever made! We're all gonna die out here and it's all his fault!"

Oh god...he's right. If we don't make it home, if something horrible happens to us, it will all be my fault.

"What...? Are you crying, Cullen?" Emmett laughs.

Probably. I can hear sobbing.

"Jesus Christ, I can't deal with this shit anymore," he sighs. "I'm leaving. Anyone who wants to come with me, let's go. Cry baby and his merry little band of freaks can stay here and rot for all I care, but they're not coming with us."

I just stand there staring at my feet and listening to their footsteps as they walk away.

I know the jocks and groupies are definitely leaving with Emmett, and after my pitiful display of weakness, I'm pretty sure that everyone else is going to leave too. Emmett is the logical choice. He can protect and lead the group better than I can.

All I have done so far is fail.

When the sound of footsteps fade off into the distance, I hear someone clear their throat. I slowly raise my head expecting to see Jasper, maybe Alice too. But the sight that greets me is almost unbelievable.

Emmett must have hit my head on the ground harder than I thought. Maybe my eyesight is damaged or I've lost the ability to count.

Because I see eight pairs of eyes staring back at me.

**So...who do you think stayed on Team Edward? And who chose to go with Emmett? What side would you choose? Let me know what you think, I'd love to hear.**


	7. Chapter 7

**Hello readers!**

**I was going to post this earlier but my beloved football team lost out in the finals last night, so my household is officially in mourning :'(**

**Special thanks to LeelaCullen, Nutty17 & Dustykins for following, edlovesme & VioletDreams13 for reviewing, and to those who love reading this story as much as I do writing it. **

**The story is really going to pick up after this chapter (can't have them wandering aimlessly in the forest forever, can I?) and there will be a lot more clues about what's happening. As always, I'd love to hear your thoughts...**

**:-D**

EPOV

"Why are you still here?" I ask. I'm not trying to be rude, I just don't know why they would choose me over their friends. Jasper, Alice and Bella I can understand, even Eric and Tyler, but I thought for sure that all the jocks and groupies would leave together. Isn't that an unspoken rule, that where one goes the rest have to follow.

I suppress a small giggle at the mental image of the other jocks following Emmett like ducklings behind a mother duck.

"Uh...because we're waiting for you to tell us where we're going," Laurent says slowly, possibly doubting my mental stability.

I know I am.

"Why didn't you go with Emmett?"

"Look," he sighs. "Emmett may be a lot of things but he's no leader. Why do you think he's not captain of our football team?"

I shrug. I have no experience with any sports, I don't know how they decide who will be the captain.

"Because he's too selfish," Laurent continues. "He's my friend, yeah, but everyone knows that Emmett only cares about Emmett. We need someone who'll think about what's best for all of us, not just himself."

"And you think that someone is me?" I ask doubtfully.

"Yeah I do, Cullen," he laughs. "You've always looked out for others. Remember when we were little and we went on that excursion to the candy factory?"

I nod my head. We were probably only six or seven and it was my first trip out of town without my parents.

"I ate so much candy I threw up on my shirt," he continues. "And you gave me your jumper to wear home even though it was freezing cold that day. Emmett would never have done that, he would've just laughed...I think he did laugh actually."

I did remember giving Laurent my jumper. At the time it didn't seem like a big deal but apparently it was to him.

"And you're always prepared for anything," Jessica pipes up. "You carry a first-aid kit and sunscreen and even that stupid waterproof poncho thing everyday."

She's right, I do. You never know what injuries can occur in a school day, so carrying a properly stocked first-aid kit is wise, and the weather in Forks can change quickly, it pays to be prepared.

I turn to Mike waiting to find out why he decided to join our group as opposed to Emmetts. He looks around, noticing everyone's eyes are now on him.

"What?" he shrugs. "I'm only here because Jess is."

Well...at least he's loyal to someone.

Deciding that now would be a good time to take a break, I tell everyone to quickly grab some lunch, reminding them to ration the food as we may not reach civilisation today. Everyone seems to take my advice seriously.

I walk up the road a few yards and sit at the edge of the tree-line. I need a few minutes by myself to think about what to do now. Earlier, my classmates followed me because they were told to and I had failed them. Now they are here by choice, they're choosing to put their chance of survival in my hands.

Pulling my thighs up to my chest, I rest my head on my knees and try to control my erratic breathing. How am I going to do this? What if I can't help them? They've put so much faith in me, what if I let them all down?

I'm not the leader they think I am, not even close. I only know what I've read in books, I've never done anything like this in real life. Yes, I have all the equipment that I need to survive until we're rescued or we find our way home, but what if I can't remember how to use it? Or what if it doesn't work?

I hear gravel crunching underfoot as someone approaches. I don't look up, I don't need to. I would know her scent anywhere.

"It's going to be okay, you know," she says, touching my arm softly.

"No it's really not, Bella," I cry, turning my head to face her. "You all seem to think that I know what to do...that I've got all these skills, but I don't. I'm not that kind of guy."

"Then you don't see yourself clearly, Edward," she smiles.

"What does that even mean?" Is she making fun of me? Maybe she thinks I'm delusional. I may have taken quite a knock to the head but I'm not crazy. I know who I am.

Bella just smiles and shrugs.

I don't know why the action angers me so much but it does. I've spent years wanting Bella to see me, to love me for who I am, and all that time she's been imaging that I'm someone else. That hurts more than my wounded ego is willing to admit.

But it also spurs me into action.

Because I don't want to be cowardly and weak. I don't want to be scared.

I don't want to be me anymore.

I want to be that guy, the one that Bella sees. I want to be the leader that they all expect me to be.

I want to be a hero.


	8. Chapter 8

**Hey everyone!**

**So so sorry for not updating earlier, I've been battling a stomach bug (oh joy!), so today is the first day that I've felt well enough to do anything really.**

**Gigantic thanks to VioletDream13 & the anonymous Guest for your reviews, and to judeling21 & Dizaster for following, and everyone who's reading this lil old story. You guys make me feel better than ginger ale and peppermint tea ever could.**

**:-D**

EPOV

"I need everyone to empty their packs," I say as I walk back to the rest of our group. I'm aware of how rude I sound but I really don't care right now.

New Edward doesn't ask, he tells.

"Why?" Alice asks. Typical. She's been quiet for hours yet the she miraculously finds her voice the minute her privacy is threatened.

"Because we have to pool all our resources," I explain. Everyone begins emptying the contents of their bags onto the road as Alice stands with her hands n her hips challenging me.

"But why?" she asks again. I get the distinct feeling that she's deliberately asking just to irritate me.

"Look," I sigh. "Nobody is expecting us back for at least another five or six hours and by then it's going to be too late to organise a search party. Plus no-one knows where the heck we are anyway, not even we know. So even if we do start walking now, there is a good chance that we won't reach the nearest town or even the nearest house before tomorrow. We need to see what supplies we have left to last the night. Understand?"

She nods her head solemnly and slowly opens her bag.

"Right, so we need to separate everything into piles. Medical supplies in one, food and water in another. Any equipment like tents, sleeping bags and mats can go over there," I say, pointing to different areas.

"Where do I put my clothes and make-up?" Jessica asks.

"Put the make-up with the medical supplies for now. You can keep your clothes," I answer, wondering why she would need to bring so many clothes on what was only an overnight trip.

"Why?" she asks. Not this again. What is wrong with these girls?

"Just do what I'm telling you and stop asking me stupid questions," I snap, frustrated that some people can't just do what they're told.

"Jesus, Cullen. Just chill the fuck out man," Mike says. Ordinarily this is where I would apologise, but New Edward doesn't do that either.

That doesn't mean I don't feel bad about being rude.

I look up from my pack in time to see Jasper pull another bag from his pack. I can't for the life of me understand why he would carry such a large bag inside his pack or what he could possibly have in it. That is until he opens it and empties the contents on the ground.

Apparently while I've been carrying our tent and trangia, Jasper's been carrying an entire supermarket.

There are literally dozens of sachets of soups, drinks and even coffee and powdered milk, as well as packets of instant noodles and pasta, granola bars and cereals, and small tins of tuna and other meats. I'm shocked. It looks like he's packed for two months not two days.

"It was my mom," he admits sheepishly when he catches everyone staring at the mountain of food. "She didn't want me to go hungry."

"Where did she think you were going?" Eric laughs. "I'm pretty sure astronauts don't pack that much food when they go to the moon, dude."

I want to point out that astronauts don't go to the moon anymore but I don't think it will alleviate Jasper's embarrassment. I feel sorry for him, his mom is always doing things like this. Ever since his father died in a freak farming accident when he was little, Jasper's mother has obsessively coddled him. If this excursion hadn't been compulsory, I'm sure that his mother would never have allowed him to go. So the fact that she packed so much food for him isn't really that surprising.

"Well thanks to Jasper we won't have to worry about starving," Alice offers kindly. Jasper smiles warmly at her in return. If he wants to discourage her attention, he's going the wrong way about it.

Now that I know that food won't be a problem, I take stock of our other supplies. Between my first-aid kit and the one that Mr Molina gave me, we have more than enough medical supplies to be able to handle any minor injury. I also take the tweezers, nail clippers, file and a few brushes from Jessica's make-up bag just in case they can be of any use.

"Okay, we're going to divide everything we need between four packs and we'll each take turns carrying them," I say, though I mentally exclude the girls from that task. Not because I think that they're weak, it just seems like the gentlemanly thing for us guys to do. "Everything else will be left behind."

I load all the food and extra water into Jasper's pack. Mine will hold the first-aid kits, a folding shovel, two trangias and extra fuel, lighters, and an assortment of utensils, cups and utility knives. The three tents and half the remaining sleeping bags and mats are divided between the other two packs.

"Are we going to share sleeping bags?" Bella asks shyly.

"What?" Is she asking if her and I are sharing? Is that what she wants? I've never had any girl be so forward with me before, let alone Bella.

But that was the old Edward.

Apparently New Edward makes her act differently.

"Uh...I mean, the sleeping bags are too small for two people, so I was just wondering how we're all going to share them?" she stammers, blushing furiously.

"Oh...well we can just unzip them and use them as quilts. They'll cover more people that way," I say, trying hard to hide my disappointment. Maybe she just needs some time to get used to New Edward first before she's ready to be sleeping bag buddies.

Or maybe New Edward needs to stop referring to himself in the third person.

With another hopelessly awkward moment with Bella over, we stash the remaining packs with our non-essential items behind a marked tree and set off in what I'm certain is the direction of home.

**I'm thinking of writing the next chapter from a different characters point of view, so who would you like to hear from? Maybe the traitors on Team Emmett? Or would you like to hear what Bella thinks of Edward 2.0?**

**Any and all feedback is truly appreciated!**


	9. Chapter 9

**Hey guys!**

**Thanks to all my reading for supporting this story, it's truly inspiring.**

**Special thanks to carolw77, kat2335, mrssnorthman, queenie & "Guest" for fav'ing, following or reviewing. Every email makes me write a little faster.**

**To "Guest": Clever, very clever...but how?**

**This chapter is for queenie who wanted a more Jalice (who doesn't?!). The events in this chapter are as I always intended, just the perspective has changed. Hope you like it!**

**:-D**

Jasper POV

"Jasper," she whispers urgently beside me. She can't keep walking so close to me, she's going to blow our cover.

"Sssh Alice," I hiss. "You're going to draw attention to us!"

When I don't look her way, she huffs angrily. I know she feels frustrated with the situation, I do too. But Edward is practically my only friend and he'd hate me if he knew.

"Just look," she urges, pointing through the trees. I squint my eyes trying to work out what I'm seeing. It's covered in vines and leaves but there is no mistaking the shape.

"Edward, stop!" I shout to him as he walks at the front of our group. "It's a house!"

No-one waits for his response before rushing into the forest towards the house. Mike reaches the dilapidated structure first...

And calmly knocks on the door.

I don't know why he would even bother, it doesn't look like anyone has lived here in the last fifty years. Edward obviously realises this too, and simply opens the door and walks inside, leaving us to follow. We drop the packs in the entrance and split up to explore.

Despite how it looked from the outside, the inside is in pretty good condition. There is a long hallway that leads through the house from the front door to the back. To the left of the hall is an open plan lounge, dining room and kitchen, to the right are four doors leading to the bedrooms and bathroom.

Alice peeks her head out of one of the middle doors and discreetly waves me over. I quickly check to see if anyone is watching before walking to the door and stepping inside.

The door is barely closed before her hands are knotted in my hair and her lips are eagerly attacking mine.

This is how it has been for the last two years, secretly making out behind closed doors and away from prying eyes. At first we had both agreed that it was better to keep our relationship a secret, but now Alice wants to go public and I'm scared to.

I'm a total jerk. Alice deserves better than for me to love her when I can't even look at her in the eye when others are around because I don't want Edward to find out. It doesn't stop me when we're alone though.

"Wait," I whisper against her lips. "What if someone comes in?"

"Door's locked," she breathes.

That's all I need to hear.

I hoist her up in my arms and set her down on the counter beside the sink, grinding myself between her spread legs. Never moving my mouth from hers, I slide my hand down the front of shorts and into her panties. I moan into her mouth when I feel her tiny hands frantically unzipping my jeans and rubbing my aching hard-on through my boxers.

We've become experts at this over the last few months, being able to get each other off in the few stolen minutes we've been able to snatch. We have never had enough time to do more, and regardless, I don't want out first times to be a rushed quicky in a dirty bathroom. I want it to be special.

With my thumb rubbing tight circles on her clit, I tease her opening with my long middle finger. She breaks the kiss and buries her face in my shoulder, whimpering and trembling quietly as her orgasm rushes through her body. I follow seconds later, softly crying her name.

As I slump against her catching my breath, I'm overcome with guilt. Alice means so much to me and I'm just being a coward. Edward's my best friend, he'd want me to be happy, right? Even if it was with his sister? I lift my head to look at Alice and I realise that she's more than worth having Edward angry at me for a while, he'll eventually forgive me I'm sure.

"We have to tell Edward," I say, brushing a wayward strand of hair away from her beautiful face.

"Now?" she asks hopefully. How on earth was I able to continually deny her this?

"Yeah," I smile, secretly hoping that Edward will be too distracted by the task of leading our group that he won't make a big deal about this.

As we quickly clean up with a handkerchief from my pocket, I decide that it's better to confess as quickly as possible. Like ripping off a band-aid.

Alice squeezes my hand as I throw the door open and march into the living area.

"I'm in love with Alice," I announce proudly to everyone in the room.

Unfortunately everyone consists of only Bella.

"I know," she laughs. Of course she does, Alice told her in confidence last year.

"Where is everyone?" I ask.

"Outside gathering firewood or exploring the sheds," she replies, smiling. "Do you want me to run and get them so you can jump out and make your announcement again?"

"Ha ha," I say sarcastically. "We were finally going to tell Edward."

"Tell me what?" Edward asks as he walks up behind us. He looks at Bella then back to Alice and I before noticing our joined hands. "Oh my god..."

"Before you freak out," I begin. "I just want you to know that I love Alice very much."

"Eew," he interrupts.

"And she loves me too."

"Eew!" he repeats, louder this time.

"Edward!" Bella chastises.

"What?" he says, turning to her. "I don't want to hear about my best friend and my sister loving on each other. That's gross."

"So...you're not angry?" I ask.

"Angry?" he asks, shaking his head. "I'm weirded out but I'm not angry."

"So we're okay?"

"Well I'm okay," he says, still looking at me strangely. "But you're the one who's in love with Alice. Are you sure you're okay?"

"Yeah," I smile, pulling Alice into my side. "I'm great."

"O-kay," he says slowly before turning towards the door. If I had known that he was going to be so cool about this I would have told him straight away.

I look down at Alice. She looks as happy as I am to be relieved of this burden of secrecy. Just as I lean down to place a gentle peck on her lips, Edward's voice calls from the doorway.

"Hey Jasper, did you know Alice ate goat poo once when she was three?"


	10. Chapter 10

**Welcome back everyone!**

**Wow, the response to the last chapter was pretty amazing! Thank you all for showing Jasper and Alice some love.**

**Extra special thanks to our new fav'ers and followers blackxrs, thatxbaseballxgirl, sassygirl156, pattiixo, TheLittleRedCrane, Puddletink, latinadecorazon, & Laria626, and wonderful reviewers queenie, elliefrog, jadedghost22, VioletDream13 & "Guest". You flooded my inbox and I love you all for that!**

**I also wanted to say how happy I am that ALL the reviews so far have been positive. This is the furthest I've ever gotten in a story without being flamed, so thank you to anyone who hasn't liked this story for either not continuing to read or for keeping any hateful opinions to yourselves. I'm actually incredibly grateful.**

**Now it's back to Edward...**

**:-D**

EPOV

Okay...so I may have lied a little.

Watching my best friend and my sister cuddled up together on the other side of the bonfire does make me uncomfortable. It's an odd visual and I'm almost expecting Jasper to jump up and run away like he normally does. But I know that's not going to happen anymore because they're...ugh...in love.

And I'm a little jealous.

That's my best friend and he got a girlfriend before me! And now that their...eew...relationship is out in the open, he'll want to spend all his time with Alice and I'll be left all alone. So as I watch Bella get up and walk towards the house, I know what I have to do.

It's time to get a girl of my own.

"Hey Bella," I say as I stand and walk towards her. "Do you mind if I join you?"

"Umm...sure," she says. "I'm just going to get more marshmallows though."

"That's okay, I can help you carry them or something," I offer. My father taught me that a gentleman should always offer to carry a lady's things for her.

"Help me carry marshmallows?" she giggles. It's not until she laughs that I realise how stupid my offer sounds. I nod my head, too embarrassed to try to remove my foot from my mouth. I really need to pull myself together.

The house looks scarier at night with only a flashlight to guide our way through the living room. But even under the bright artificial light, Bella still looks amazing.

"You're so beautiful, Bella," I whisper in what I hope is a seductive voice, though I think it sounds more like I have a frog caught in my throat. I chuckle a little at the thought of a tiny anphibian living in my esophagus.

"Are you crazy?" Bella asks, screwing up her nose and shielding her eyes from the blinding light in my hand. "I look horrible! My hair's a mess and I haven't showered in two days. Are you making fun of me?"

"No! You...you're good. I-I mean you look good," I stammer, blowing out a harsh breath. "To me...Bella, you always look good to me."

"Wow," she blushes. "Uh...thank you?"

"You're very welcome," I smile, hoping that her acceptance of my compliment means that she might be open to being my girlfriend. "So...I was wondering, when we get home, if you'd maybe like to go on a date? With me?"

"Umm..." she pauses, looking uncertain. "I'm not saying no, but I am wondering why now?"

"Why now?" I repeat. I don't understand what she's asking. Does she want me to ask her another time? Because that sounds like a pretty strange condition to her giving me an answer.

"Yeah, if you've always thought I was beautiful, then why did you wait to ask me out?" she explains. Her question sounds reasonable so I owe it to her to be honest.

"Oh," I say. "Well...I like you. Obviously. And I thought that now Jasper's dating Alice, we shou-"

"No," she interrupts, staring at me long and hard. She looks angry, maybe even a little hurt. I really don't know what I've said wrong.

"Okay," I say slowly. "Can I ask why? I mean...did I say or do something wrong?"

"Are you serious?" she fumes. "I'm not going to date you just because your friend is dating my friend!"

"That's not why I asked, I..I don't know why I said that. I'm sorry," I say pleading with her. I decide to just do it, put all my thoughts out there and if that's still not good enough then I'll just have to accept that. Her rejection can't hurt me more than it already has, right? "I've been in love with you since the first day I saw you, but girls like you never go for guys like me so I've always kept my feelings to myself. But now I'm jealous because what Jasper has with Alice is what I've always wanted with you, and I guess it gave me the courage to finally ask you. So...yeah, I suppose that's why. Sorry."

While I wait for her to say something, I stare at my feet. It's so dark at floor level that can't see them or Bella's either for that matter. Did she walk out during my confession? Oh god, she's probably outside right now telling everyone what a weirdo I am.

So convinced that I'm alone, I scream out loud when a hand suddenly touches my arm.

It was a manly scream though...more like a war-cry really...

"Edward," Bella sighs. "You should've just told me that to begin with."

"Does that mean you've changed your mind?" I ask hopefully. "Does it mean you'll say yes?"

"It means...maybe," she replies. Maybe? That has too be a good sign, right?

"But that's not a no," I point out.

"No Edward," she laughs. "It's not a no."

A maybe date with Bella Swan...

I'll take it!


	11. Chapter 11

**Hello readers!**

**Thanks to everyone who is enjoying the story so far, I promise that you'll start getting some answers soon.**

**Huge thanks to Miznana for fav'ing, smiley3350 & jansails for following, and to escarlet 12, elliefrog and an anonymous "Guest" for their reviews. Your support means the world to me.**

**:-D**

EPOV

While Bella might have said maybe to a date with me, sleeping bag buddies was a definite no. I was at least happy that she didn't want to sleep with anyone else though.

The couples each took one bag, as did Eric and Tyler, and with Bella choosing to sleep alone, that left me to share with Laurent.

The house, while riddled with holes and cracks, still provided us with shelter from the outside elements, which I was grateful for after removing Laurent's arm from around my waist for the third time.

Who knew that such a tough football playing jock was a cuddler?

Who knew I would have to find that information out first hand?

Regardless, I decided that perhaps having a warm sleeping bag wasn't necessary after all.

Nor was sleep apparently because after almost an hour of lying on the hard floor, listening to the sounds of nocturnal insects and animals outside, I feel more awake than ever.

Deciding to spend the few hours until dawn doing something productive, I sneak into the kitchen area with my flashlight, map and compass.

The map only really shows the area of the park that we were exploring and nowhere does it show the house that we're now in, so it's pretty much useless. I wish someone had been rebellious enough to smuggle a cell phone in their pack because Google Maps would really come in handy right now.

From what I know of the area, the road that we've been following is definitely leading us in the direction of home, and given that we had been walking for most of the afternoon, we should only be a few miles from Forks.

My chest swells with pride knowing that even if we don't encounter a rescue party, I'll be able to get everyone safely home by lunchtime.

I wait until sunrise to wake the others. No-one seems particularly eager to leave the warmth of their makeshift beds until I explain that in just a few short hours they would be back in the comfort of their own.

Thanks to our new found energy, we were packed, fed and back on the road in record time, spending the four hour walk to Forks planning what we'll do first when we reach home.

While others were talking about the parties they'd go to, I surprisingly cannot wait to see my parents again. I know that they would have been worried sick when Alice and I didn't return yesterday as planned.

Particularly my mother.

She has a tendency to get overly emotional when it comes to her children. No doubt my father would have had to sedate her when we didn't arrive on schedule.

When the Welcome to Forks sign comes into view, it's immediately obvious that something is very very wrong.

The road beyond remains damaged, the parks and lawns alongside are overgrown and disorderly and there's not a person or vehicle in sight.

But it's the sign itself that's the most disturbing.

Faded and aged, it looks nothing like the colorful metal we'd seen from the bus only two days ago, and the once cheerful greeting has now been covered by harsh red spray paint. The message it displays makes absolutely no sense to me.

It reads:

CLEARED

29/04/78

**Ooohh...what could that mean? I'd love to hear your thought!**

**:-D**


	12. Chapter 12

**Hi everyone!**

**As many of you may already know, I'm big on returning favours. So this week I've been reading and reviewing some of your stories and I can honestly say that not only are you all great readers, some of you are great writers too. My goal is to give a review to everyone who's written one for me, so if you're not a writer but have a friend who is or know an under-appreciated story, let me know and I'll post one for them instead. And fear not, as long as the story isn't overly offensive, I always write positive reviews!**

**Thanks to everyone who's battling utter confusion to read this story, the answers are closer than you may think.**

**Super special thanks to decullen, twilightobsessed160995, BonBon294, HelloKoto & Ambrianna for following or fav'ing, & to "Guest", jansails, , elliefrog, VioletDream13 & frostedglaze for reviewing (some multiple times :-) ). Without you all, this story would be lost and lonely amongst the thousands of others on this site!**

**Now on with this crazy confusing story...**

**:-D**

EPOV

"Twenty-nine, zero-four, seventy-eight." Eric murmurs, running his fingers over the numbers on the sign. "What does it mean?"

"It's some kind of code or something, right?" Mike asks, peering over Eric's shoulder.

He has a point. The numbers themselves could be a code but the way they're separated makes them look more like...

"A date," I whisper. Bella raises an amused eyebrow at me, clearly thinking of last nights discussion. Our maybe agreement.

"Now?" she questions.

"No, not...you know," I say, awkwardly gesturing between us. "The numbers. They look like a date."

"Oh yeah," Eric says as if the answer the answer was obvious. Though I doubt any answer has ever been obvious to him. He's always seemed a little...slow.

"No fucking way is that a date," Jessica says, rolling her eyes. "Look at the year, that's like sixty years ago!"

It's actually forty-five but she's right, it doesn't make sense. There's no way that it's graffiti from the seventies.

"Look, it's probably just a joke or something," Laurent sighs. "Let's just get home and forget all this ever happened, okay?"

"Are you blind? This isn't a joke people!" Jasper shouts, waving his arms around and pointing up the street. "Look around. Am I the only one that sees what's going on here?"

No, I see it too.

I've seen science fiction movies and documentaries about it though my father once assured me that it was impossible, that it could never really happen. But as I watch my best friend rant, rave and pace up and down the road, I know that my father was wrong.

Crazy actually is contagious.

And I can only really blame myself. If I had've kept my cool earlier instead of screaming and crying like a lunatic, Jasper would be fine now. But now it's too late, my madness has spread. I can only hope that the others are not afflicted.

I should have known something was wrong when he confessed his love for Alice.

The best thing I can do for Jasper now is to get him to my father as fast as possible. He'll know what to do.

"Okay Jasper," I say slowly, approaching him in what I hope is a passive and friendly manner. "Let's just go to my house, okay? Maybe play some Xbox or we could talk to my Dad about what's going on. Does that sound good?"

"What?" he says, looking at me as though I'm the one that's lost my mind. Sadly I almost wish that was still the case. I wonder if the craziness can return to its original host. I'll definitely have to research that.

"It's alright. I know you're confused but my father can help you. I promise," I whisper, trying to avoid embarrassing him in front of the others.

"I'm not crazy, Edward," he says calmly. "And you're Dad can't do anything because he's not here anymore, no-one's here, don't you see?"

"I don't..." I trail off.

"Think about everything we've seen," Jasper urges. "The trees that grew seemingly overnight, the road, the date on the sign. And look at that house, do you recognise it?"

I study the old house that he's pointing to. It looks nothing like it did just days ago, but I still recognise it. Mrs Evans lives there. She's a member of my mothers book club, I used to feed her cat when she went out of town.

"Edward," Jasper smiles as he grabs hold of my shoulders. "You understand now, right? You know what happened?"

I nod dumbly, beginning to feel light headed as the evidence around me slowly suffocates my logic.

"We've travelled forward in time," he answers his own question excitedly.

"Huh."

I barely feel my body hit the ground before everything goes black.


	13. Chapter 13

**Welcome back!**

**So one part of the mystery has been revealed, but a lot of you already suspected that they'd travelled through time so it wasn't really that much of a mystery. As for all your other questions, all I can ask is that you have patience. You will get your answers.**

**Unfortunately this will be the last update for a couple of weeks because I'll be nearly 4000km away in Western Australia for a week. Yay holidays! It will be the first time I've flown since recovering from agorophobia, so wish me luck? I'll definitely need it!**

**Thanks to everyone who's enjoying this story so far. The more you want to read, the more I want to write.**

**Huge thanks to XellaX & fireflyserenity for adding this story to their favourite lists, wolfygrr21 for following and reviewing, and to elliefrog, VioletDream13, madkins, jansails, Sunflower2009 & the lone anonymous "Guest" for their wonderful reviews. You are all the greatest supporter that I could ever wish for.**

**Now where were we...**

**:-D**

EPOV

"Edward...Edward?"

I can feel something wet dripping onto my face. God, I hope I'm not crying again.

"Wakey wakey, man."

The first thing I see when I slowly open my eyes is Jasper's grinning face. The second is the bottle in his hand that he's using to drip water on me.

"What year is it?" I croak.

"Uh...I don't know," he shrugs.

"Is it 2013?" I ask, hoping that it is and that this is all a dream brought on by too much bizarre late-night TV.

"No," he smiles.

"Wake me up when it is," I say, closing my eyes again.

"C'mon, get up," he laughs, pulling me into a sitting position. He actually thinks I'm joking.

I'm not.

I rub my eyes and look around. Everything looks exactly as it did before I fainted...no, blacked out. That sounds way less girlish.

Oh, who am I kidding, I practically swooned.

"So where is everyone?" I have to ask even though I'm sure that Jasper doesn't know. I don't think anyone has any idea.

"Just over there," he says, pointing behind me and speaking as though he's talking to an idiot. Given my behavior lately, he actually might be.

"What?" I shout, almost snapping my own neck to turn and look. Our group stands back down the road further watching us. Bella raises her hand and hesitantly wave but no-one makes any move towards the two crazies in the middle of the street.

And by crazies, I mean Jasper and I.

"Not those people," I say, getting to my feet. "I mean the townspeople. Our families? Our friends? You said they were gone, so where did they go?"

"Oh that," he says. "I was just stating the obvious. I mean, just look around. Forks is pretty quiet but never _this _quiet, right? And the sign said the town was cleared, so I think it's pretty obvious what it was cleared of."

He's right. I can still hear birds in the trees, and we've seen small animals and insects since we left the campsite. But no other people nor any signs that there might be any about. Even the landscape proves that no-one has lived in Forks for a long time. The trees have taken over, the animals have taken over.

And we are the only people left.

"What are we going to tell the others?" Jasper asks quietly. "They know that something's definitely wrong here."

"Jasper, if we go over there and tell them that we travelled though time, they're going to think we're crazy," I say. Jasper sighs, he knows it's true. "I say we just play dumb and look for answers. There's no point worrying them when we don't even know everything."

"Oh god, I hate keeping secrets from Alice," he mutters.

"That's funny, because you and her are really good at keeping secrets from others," I snap, immediately wanting to take it back.

"Really? You want to talk about this now?" he say incredulously.

"I'm sorry," I apologise weakly. "I'm just stressed."

"It's okay," he murmurs. The situation feels really awkward now. Jasper and I never fight so neither of us knows how make amends. Do we hug? That seems a little...weird, we've never hugged before. Maybe a handshake would do...

"Let's go rejoin the group," Jasper say, thankfully ending my awkward thoughts.

Note to self: never fight with Jasper again, it may end in hugging.

As we trudge back to where everyone is waiting expectantly, I try to think of all the possible reasons for why the town was evacuated and where the best place would be to find answers. The hospital is a possibility, the library too, but they don't cover all likely scenarios.

There's only one place that would.

"So what are we doing now then?" Alice asks as we reach them and lift our packs onto our backs.

"We're going to the town hall," I say shortly.

"What's at town hall?" she presses.

"Answers."


	14. Chapter 14

**I'm back!**

**My holiday was wonderful and relaxing, I didn't even freak out on the plane. Dee: 1, Panic Attacks: 0! **

**Thanks to all of you for being very patient and for supporting this story. I hope this chapter's worth the small wait.**

**Special thanks to jansails, "Guest", elliefrog, VioletDream13, madkins & frostedglaze for your continued reviews, Shelley421 & TwIfAn33 for putting this story on alert, & to Frankielvz for adding it to you favourite list. You're all inspiring and there's absolutely no way I could keep writing without you!**

**:-D**

EPOV

Apparently Jasper really does hate keeping secrets from Alice, which is probably a good thing considering how much he sucks at it.

He barely made it to the end of the block before he caved and confessed everything.

Alice then took even less time spilling the beans to Bella, leaving me to answer her questions while the others walk on oblivious.

It's not that I don't love talking and walking with Bella, because I do, but I don't have any answers for her and the more we talk, the more nervous she seems to get.

"So where do you think all the people went?" she asks. We only speak of the population as a whole and never about any of our families or what may have happened to them specifically. The date on the sign says enough.

"I don't know," I sigh. "Maybe they were evacuated."

"Why?" she asks nervously.

"I don't know," I repeat. I don't want to scare her with my long list of theories. War? Disease? Alien abduction? Or maybe this is all part of some secret government experiment...

Yeah, that's my personal favourite.

Though I can't imagine what information the government could gain from a confused group of teenagers or how they managed to make all this happen. I've heard conspiracy theories about mind control and time travel technology but I had never really believed them. Until now. Maybe we all have secret abilities and the government wants to use us to create a new race of superhumans.

I mean, my mother always told me I was special.

I glance over at Bella nervously chewing her lip. I wonder what her super ability is, and more importantly, is it compatible with mine? My cock twitches at the very thought of Bella and I helping to repopulate the earth.

Strictly for scientific purposes of course...

"Well this is just fucking brilliant," Mike shouts, stopping in front of me. My eyes nearly pop out of my head when I realise what he's talking about.

Before us sits the town hall...or what's left of it anyway. Unlike the buildings surrounding it that, despite showing signs of age, are still standing, the hall itself is nothing but a pile of rubble.

A burnt, charred pile of rubble.

I carefully step onto the pile, gingerly moving bricks and burnt timber aside hoping to find a filing cabinet, a safe or something that might have survived the fire. Something that could help us.

Slowly the others begin to help but as we pick our way through the mess, we continue to come up empty handed.

"You won't find anything," an unfamiliar voice calls. I slowly turn towards the sound.

Standing in the middle of the street is a man. We all stand frozen in place. After days without seeing another human, his sudden appearance is almost too good to be true.

But something about him doesn't seem right...

His jet black hair and caramel skin shimmer in the sun as though the light is not reflecting off it but instead passing through it. Through him.

He almost looks like a hologram.

I look around, trying to figure out where his image is being projected from but I don't see anything. They must be using some really advanced technology, because there is no was that this guy is real.

His mouth is set in a hard line as he stares us down but his eyes look surprised to see us here. He shakes his head slowly before he speaks again.

"You shouldn't be here," he says firmly. "You don't belong here."

Before I can ask who he is, why he's here or what he means, he closes his eyes, takes a deep breath...

And vanishes...

**New character?! WTF?! I'd love to hear your theories, thoughts, anger at me for constantly confusing you, anything!**

**Also, I'm going to do a different POV next chapter, so if you want to hear from someone else, let me know (sorry but it can't be the new guy though). Most popular choice wins!**

**:-D**


	15. Chapter 15

**Two chapters in one day? Yeah, I'm feeling really inspired!**

**Thanks to everyone who's loving/tolerating this story. You're amazing, keep it up...please?**

**Huge thanks to madkins, elliefrog, jansails, VioletDream13 & sassygirl156 for reviewing so quickly. This chapter is for you guys!**

**So...you want to here from Bella, huh? Well okay, but I have to warn you that this Bella's not exactly canon. She's got a little more bite but I hope you can show her a little love anyway...**

**:-D**

BPOV

"Okay...we all saw that, right?" I ask hesitantly. There was definitely a man standing there and then he just...disappeared.

More disturbing than his disappearing act though, were his words. As ominous as they sounded it wasn't a warning. They sounded like he was in awe of our presence.

Well buddy, I know exactly how you feel!

We shouldn't be here and we definitely don't belong here, but it's not like we were given a choice. All we did was fall asleep in 2013 and wake up the next day in god knows when.

Edward runs down to where the man was standing, completely ignoring my question. He starts searching the front of the buildings on either side of the road. I love him, I'll admit it, but sometimes he's just so damn weird. Most of the time I find it cute.

Now is not one of those times.

"What are you doing?" I ask, walking over to him.

"I'm looking for the projectors," he says simply. Projectors? Why would he be looking for projectors? It doesn't even look like the town has electricity.

"What projectors?" I ask, keen to hear his crazy explanation. It's one of the things I like about Edward, that I can never predict what he's going to say next.

"That guy was a hologram Bella, I'm sure of it," he says, but I can see the doubt growing in his eyes the longer he searches.

"Maybe he wasn't," I say gentle, placing my hand on his arm. I've noticed that my touch seems to comfort him and since he told me that he has feelings for me too, I've been touching him as much as I can.

Not _that _kind of touching. We're not ready for that yet and now is definitely not the right setting for anything...intimate.

"If he wasn't a hologram, then what was he?" he asks imploringly.

"I don't know," I say sadly. "A ghost...a spirit maybe?"

"Do you believe that?"

"I didn't believe in time travel a few days ago," I laugh. "I'm pretty sure that anything's possible at this stage!"

"Yeah, I guess you're right," he says lightly but deep down I can see he's still troubled. We lapse into an awkward silence until the others decide to join us.

"Okay, so I've been thinking," Mike begins. I sigh quietly. I can't imagine anything good every comes from Mike thinking. In fact, I doubt that Mike and thinking have ever been used in the same sentence before.

Jessica clears her throat and elbows Mike sharply in the ribs.

"We've been thinking, I mean," he corrects. Well thank god he wasn't working alone. "We should leave town now."

"No way man," Tyler objects. "We never agreed to that."

"Well what do you want to do then? Mike asks heatedly. "Wait for that...thing to come back? He doesn't want us here, he said so himself."

"No he didn't," I interrupt. "He said we shouldn't be here, not that he didn't want us here. There's a difference."

"So what? You want to stay here?" Mike sneers. He's such an arrogant ass. He always talks down to women and if Jessica wasn't such a bitch, I'd probably feel sorry for the way he treats her.

"Yeah we do," Edward says, coming to my defense like a geeky knight in shining armour. "That...uh...guy obviously knows more about what's going on than we do, so if we stay here then maybe he'll come back and we can get some answers."

The others nod in agreement as Mike angrily stomps over to the nearest building and kicking it with his foot before plopping himself down on the sidewalk. As always, Jessica obediently follows.

Good dog.

"Thank you," I whisper to Edward.

"For what?" he asks, confused.

"For taking my side against Mike," I smile shyly.

"Oh Bella," he smiles lovingly back at me, taking my hand in his. "I will always take your side."

I take it back.

This is the perfect setting for something...intimate.


	16. Chapter 16

**Back again? Why yes I am, but this may be the last update for the week.**

**Thanks to all my readers for staying with this story. This chapter will start to answer some of your questions (and hopefully not create many more)!**

**Gigantic thanks to paskudNIK & Nippci for putting this story on alert, Tarbecca for adding this story to her favourites list, MajorWhitlock'sCowgirl & readingmommy for fav'ing and following and to sassygirl156, madkins, VioletDream13, frostedglaze & the two anonymous "Guests" for their continued reviews. Amazing, brilliant, wonderful supporters, every single one of you. **

**And patient...so very very patient...**

**Guests: If you don't want to sign in, that's totally cool but feel free to leave your name/nickname/secret identity. I'd love to give you the credit you deserve!**

**This chapter is from our mystery man's POV. It's the first step towards bringing this whole confusing story together.**

**Enjoy...**

:-D

?POV

As I slowly open my eyes, I can feel the layer of sweat that had gathered on my skin while I was unconscious. I can see the tribal elders gathered around me through the thick smoke that filled the makeshift hut.

"What did you see, son?" my father asks.

"People," I croak, coughing to clear my lungs. "It was the same place that I travelled to before, but there were people. They looked lost."

A hum of curious voices rises around me but my mind is still too hazy to understand what they're saying.

"Our people?" I can see the hope shining in my father's eyes.

"No," I say, watching his head drop in disappointment.

For months we have been searching, looking for clues that could save the future of our people. Of all peoples.

Ever since we learnt that the human race was on the brink of extinction.

Our tribe has always possessed the ability to travel via the spirit realm to places far and wide in order to gather information from other cultures that will benefit our tribe. But it wasn't until the need arose did our future descendants find a way to use those abilities to travel through time.

When we were first visited by my great-great-great-great grandson, the tribe had been sceptical, but as the frequency of his visits grew, so did his desperation.

We were left with no choice but to believe him.

And the stories he told shook us to our core...

War had ravished the country and eventually the entire world, and with no-one to regulate distribution, food became scarce. With the quality of food declining and the population dying at a rate that made proper burial impossible, it wasn't long before illness set in. Entire cities were disappearing in a matter of months, towns only weeks.

The human race was dying out.

And by the time my decendant had shared all his knowledge about the future and spirit travel, there were only three Quileute left. When he didn't return the following month, we knew that our people were gone.

I turn to my father as the other elders begin to leave the hut. He looks deep in thought.

"What should we do about those people?" I ask nervously.

"Nothing," he scoffs. "We don't have to do anything. They are not our people, they are of no help to us. We need to focus on being in the right place and time to save ourselves. The white man made this mess, they killed our people. We will not be helping them!"

"But they were just kids!" I argue. "You didn't see them, they didn't look like they belonged in that time either. They were dressed like they were from another time, an earlier time. They could help us!"

My father's face slowly turns red with anger. His nostrils flare as he huffs in a deep breath. Not only is he my father, he's also the chief of our tribe and his word is final. He leans down towards me, so close that our noses are almost touching.

"I. Said. No," he says furiously. "And if you go against me and try to help those kids, I will find out...and you will be banished."

He gets up and storms outside, leaving me alone with my thoughts.

Maybe these kids are like me, time travellers looking for a way to save their people too. Surely it would be beneficial if we worked together. I don't care what my father says, I need to go back and help them. I just need to convince someone to help me do that.

I can only hope that the strangers will still be there when I return...


	17. Chapter 17

**Hi everyone!**

**First of all I have to say the biggest ever thanks to Tarbecca for rec'ing this story over on A Different Forest! I've had soooo many new readers thanks to her and this is the second time she's rec'd one of my stories, so I couldn't be more grateful. She's actually been nominated for a TwificFandom Award in the Favourite Fic Rec Individual category, so when you're done here, please head on over and tick the little box beside Tarbecca Ficreader, okay? Also check out her rec's on ADF, there are some great hidden gems out there and she's doing everyone a favour by uncovering them for us!**

**More massive thanks go to wiptbr, sogoodtoo, avereb, gsbella, Amelie123, lambchop106, rastis, Kerrybm, momomutti, mymindisallgone, ChocMcMuffin, RubyDee, blue022, BellaBiter, Shellbowen, majose, meg2010, imzadi12, vinie24, PinkyPolish, angie671, kwvillen, afior, Isabeau01, Saguenay & madgerama for fav'ing or following my story, and to elliefrog, VioletDream13, sassygirl156, jansails & the lone "Guest" for their wonderful reviews. I can't say enough how great it is to have you all supporting me and my little story!**

**Thanks also go to everyone who's continued to battle confusion and annoyance to support this story. Believe it or not we're over the halfway mark now, hopefully it only gets better from here...**

**Back to Edward...**

**:-D**

EPOV

If I'd have known that all I had to do to get Bella to fall for me was stand up to Mike, I would have done it years ago.

Maybe on day when all the other jocks were absent, definitely behind his back...

Would that still count?

Regardless, Bella has been following me everywhere since. I've been trying really hard not to read too much into her closeness but when she volunteered to take the first watch out in the street with me while everybody else slept inside the abandoned buildings nearby, my body started to react to the thought of sleeping close to her.

And that is how I found myself in this current predicament.

While Bella lies just a few feet away in the tiny sleeping bag that we're supposed to share, I'm hunched up by the fire desperately trying to get rid of my raging hard-on so that there isn't a repeat of the first night Bella and I slept together.

I mean, slept in the same tent together, not _slept _together. Just the thought of Bella and I...

Damn, now my cock's harder than ever. I'm going to be stuck like this all night.

"Edward," Bella says quietly. "Aren't you cold?"

"No," I say, shaking my head. I wonder if she'd be alright if I snuck away for a few minutes to jerk off. I'll just tell her I'm getting more fire wood or something. I stand up slowly, making sure that my back is to her.

"Okay," Bella sighs. "Is something wrong?"

"N-no, nothing's wrong," I stutter. "I'm...I'm just going to get some more wood for the fire."

"Edward, there's plenty of wood right there," she replies. Hearing her say the word wood is doing nothing to help the situation in my pants. "Can you just come over here for a second?"

Keep talking Bella and I probably will.

As discreetly as possible I adjust myself and pull my jumper down as far as I can before shuffling over to Bella. I kneel down quickly with my hands in my lap. Bella lets out a frustrated sigh and lifts the corner of the sleeping bag.

"Hop in," she smiles, though the way she says it sounds more like a demand. Her aggressiveness is kind of sexy.

And if I'm honest, just a little scary.

I gingerly climb under the covers, mindful to keep my lower body as far away from her as I can in such a small space. Bella huffs and tries to close the distance between us.

"Ugh Edward," she groans. "Do I have to do all the work here?"

"What?" I ask. Work? What are we working on? When I open my mouth to as what she means, she pounces.

I'm frozen in place with her lips pushing almost painfully onto mine until I feel her soft tongue sneak out to taste me. I moan heatedly into her mouth when I finally open my mouth and brush my own tongue against hers. The feeling is indescribable, I've never been kissed like this before.

Okay...so I've never been kissed at all before.

Sure, it's a bit sloppy and messy, and we knock noses and teeth more than once, but this is by far the greatest moment of my life. I want to devour her. I want to crush her tiny body to mine.

I want to hump her leg like my neighbours dog does.

Yeah...maybe that's a little gross, but if she let me I totally would.

And then it happens...

Bella pulls her mouth away from mine and grabs my hand, slowly sliding it up her body. My brain is too hazy to register what she wants me to do, but Bella has no problem telling me.

"Touch me Edward," she whispers. And I loose it, my tortured cock can take no more.

"Uh-uh...oh god," I moan as my whole body trembles then freezes, slumping down onto the sleeping mat. I can't believe this happened again.

"Did..did you just..." she doesn't need to finish her question, we both know I just blew it.

Literally...

"Well..." she sighs. "At least you were awake this time."

God...could this moment get any worse?

"Excuse me," a voice echoes in the dark. Bella and I quickly turn to see that our shimmery, possibly holographic friend has returned. He looks uncomfortable so I can only assume he has seen everything. "It is urgent. I need to speak to your leader."

Perfect...


	18. Chapter 18

**Hello readers!**

**Thanks to all of you for reading this story and for showing our poor boy Edward some love. Yeah...he really needs it.**

**Special thanks to ahhleesaaa, smed11, IsAbElLa5233, tsm0836, afior, donnasgirl & tench11 for following me and my story, and to elliefrog, jansails, sassygirl156, Saguenay, leegee123, madkins, frostedglaze, Edlovesme, VioletDream13 & "Guest" (I will learn your name if it's the last thing I do!) for their amazing reviews. I am completely awed by how much you're all enjoying this story, it makes writing it an absolute pleasure!**

**Now let's see what our Quileute friend has to say...**

**:-D**

EPOV

Right at this moment I wish I were in jail.

Sure, a guy like me wouldn't last a day without becoming someone's bitch, but me being in prison is the only possible scenario where I would actually be happy about an early release...

And where I wouldn't be completely humiliated by having a stranger witness it.

Unfortunately I'm not. Instead I'm huddled under a sleeping bag, frozen, while a large Native American...ghost...man continues to stare expectantly back at me. Thankfully my trance is broken by Bella as she jabs her pointy elbow into my ribs.

"Leader..." she whispers, her eyes darting between me and our guest. Leader? Who...?

Oh right...that's me.

"Uh, I'm the leader," I say. He raised his eyebrows in surprise.

"You?" he asks, looking me up and down. "You're the leader of this tribe?"

Surprisingly, I'm not insulted my his obvious doubt. Sitting here with my boxers full of cold jizz, I don't feel like much of a leader.

"It's not exactly a tribe," I explain. "But yeah, I guess I'm the leader."

"Well, alright," he says, sitting down on the ground a few feet from me. "I have important information that I must share with you, and I am hoping that you are willing to share your knowledge with me."

"My knowledge?" I ask. I'm not sure what he expects me to tell him. "We don't know anything. We don't even know what we're doing here, or what you're doing here for that matter. Who are you? _What _are you?"

"My name is Jacob Black, my p-"

"No you're not," Bella interrupts. I look at her, confused. How does she know who he is or isn't?

"I think I know who I am," he says patronisingly.

"Well you're lying then," she argues, turning to look at me. "I know Jacob Black. He's like two years old, I babysit him. I know his parents, Billy and Sarah, his grandfather William is friends with my dad."

"Ahh," Maybe-Jacob says. "Perhaps you are talking about my decendant Jacob? Father of Samuel Black?"

"Father of...wait, how would you know about your decendants?" Bella asks. "You can't be any older than like thirty."

The stranger looks from Bella to me with a hard expression. The ticking in his jaw doesn't exactly friendly either.

"Keep your woman quiet," he says coldly. "We don't have much time."

Bella starts to open her mouth to argue but I quickly clamp my hand over it to stop her. If she makes him angry, he might leave.

Or kill us...

Judging by the look on his face, it could go either way.

"Sure, no problem. She'll be good," I quickly assure him. I can almost feel the heat of Bella's glare as I look down at her. I lean down to whisper in her ear. "Please?"

She doesn't say anything but she leans away from me with her arms folded and her lips pressed tightly together, so I guess that means she's okay with it.

Maybe...

"As I was saying," Jacob continues when I return my attention to him. "My people have been using astral projection to travel to far away places since the beginning of time but recently my tribe was visited by my decendant Samuel Black, who, along with his people, had discovered that he could also use his spirit to travel through time. He in turn shared his knowledge with us in return for our help."

"Help with what?" I ask. Sure, I'd like to know exactly how he and his tribe travelled through time, but I'm curious as to why someone that hasn't even been born yet would need help from his ancestors.

"The world he came from was a very different place," he sighs. "Years of war had led to starvation and disease, the human race was rapidly becoming extinct. He shared his knowledge so that we could travel to a time before the wars and death began, and find a way to help our people survive."

"So that explains why there are no people around," I murmur quietly. Jacob nods his head sadly. "Did you do it? Did you save your tribe? Are there any survivors out there somewhere?"

"Time travel is a difficult skill to master," he sighs. "There are only two people in my time who can do it, but we have been unsuccessful in finding our future tribe. You and your group are the first people of any kind that we've come across."

We sit silently for a time as the reality of his words sink in. His people are gone, my people are gone.

People don't exist anymore.

"You are not from this time either, are you?" he asks.

"No, we're not," I reply. "How did you know?"

"Your clothes," he says simply. "And also your wife mentioned that she knew Samuel's father as an infant."

Of course...duh!

"Now tell me this," Jacob says seriously, looking me straight in the eye. "How did you get here?"


	19. Chapter 19

**Hi everyone!**

**PHEW! What. A. Week! **

**Work has been super hectic and I swear if it wasn't my own business, I'd probably quit! It almost makes me miss working a regular 9 to 5 job...almost.**

**Plus Halloween was yesterday and because trick or treating isn't normally done in Australia, some poor sucker has to actually organise it in their area. In my suburb, that poor sucker was me...oh joy. All the kids had fun though so I can't bitch too much. My son decided to go as Slender Man (don't ask me, I have no idea either), which was pretty much just him in his suit and tie with a white mask, so at least I didn't have to make him a costume.**

**Massive thanks to Mercyrus, Aslyone39, JXB Addicted, MorganaNM, . & A Little Ramble for following this little ol' story, and to jansails, Edlovesme, "Guest", sassygirl156, tsm0836, BellaBiter & frostedglaze for leaving me such fantastic reviews. Your support is sweeter than all the Halloween candy I've stolen from my son today...and completely guilt-free!**

**:-D**

EPOV

"...and that's when you showed up," I finish simply. In comparison to his story, ours is incredibly lame. We woke up and we walked here, there's no way possible to make it sound remotely interesting.

By now the others had gradually joined us, but apparently they were happy to leave the story telling to me.

Big mistake.

Not only does Jacob look bored, he looks angry too. His nostrils are flared and his left eye keeps twitching. It would almost be funny...if he wasn't big enough to murder us and grind our bones to make his bread.

"Do you expect me to believe that you just...appeared in this time?" he says slowly.

"Why not?" Mike foolishly challenges. I subtly shake my head at him, but he ignores me. "_You _did. Do you expect _us _to believe that?"

Poor Mike, he will be sorely missed...

"It took my people years to develop the ability to travel through time," Jacob explains angrily, rising to his feet. "An ability that you all appear to have knowledge of, so I demand to know how?"

"We don't know anything," Jasper says quietly. Jacob furiously scrubs his face with his hand and begins pacing back and forth in front of us, as I try to understand what he's accusing us of.

Does he really believe that we arrived here the same way he did?

That we all have the same abilities?

The whole idea is impossible. If all we had to do to travel through time was fall asleep, surely this would have happened before.

Right?

I mean, I used to sleepwalk sometimes when I was little. I remember waking up on the living room sofa, even the stairs a couple of times, but never in a different era.

I'm not that weird.

Jacob stops pacing and turns to face us, his muscular arms folded over his equally beefy chest.

Hmm...maybe I should join a gym...

"Tell me more about where you came from," Jacob demands. "Are there wars? Sickness?"

"Well...yes we have wars," I begin, deciding that it's probably better if I'm the spokesperson for our group. "Not in this country though, not on this continent even. And there's sickness as well, but not the kind you described. People aren't dying on mass."

"No..." he mumbles to himself, nodding his head. "And this campsite you journeyed from, where is it exactly?"

"It's in the Olympic National Park," I say, digging into a pocket on the side of my pack and pulling out a crumpled piece of paper. "Here, I have a map."

I flatten the paper out on the tarmac beside me and point to the site. Jacob studies the map carefully before shaking his head. He slowly turns the map around to study the site from different directions, then sighs.

"You said the buildings near there were destroyed," he states. I nod quickly. Though it's entirely possible that I just couldn't find them, I don't want to admit that to the group let alone a complete stranger. "Are there any other landmarks nearby? Something that is still there today?"

"No, there was nothing," I reply sadly. Not that I was paying that much attention, I was more concerned with getting us the hell away from that place as fast as possible. "Why?"

"No particular reason," he says defensively. He has a far off look in his eyes, and while I'm horrible at reading peoples expressions, I get the feeling he's hiding something from us.

Or he could just be daydreaming...

Though now is really not the time for that. I was relying on him to help us get home not to waste time dreaming about god knows what.

"Oh, the tree!" Alice suddenly squeals hysterically. Jacob breaks his trance to glare menacingly at her.

"What tree?" he asks coldly, but Alice seems completely unaffected by his hostile attitude.

"The apple tree," she happily replies. She looks around the group. "Remember? The one Edward freaked out about?"

Judging from the chuckles that follow her question, it's pretty safe to assume that everyone remembers not only the apple tree but my reaction to it. I'm just surprised that I didn't think of it before Alice did.

"And this tree is near the campsite?" Jacob asks eagerly, his whole demeanor changing in seconds.

"It's at the campsite," I admit sheepishly. "Just inside the tree line."

He quickly nods his head once before closing his eyes. I immediately recognise the action.

"Wait," I shout. He slowly opens his eyes again and glares impatiently at me. "Are you coming back? Are you going to help us get home?"

When a friendly smile spreads across his face, I'm so relieved I could hug him.

In a purely platonic manly was of course...

But as he continues to stare at me, his smile takes on an almost evil quality. I open my mouth to ask again but he cuts me off with just one word.

"No."

And before I can blink, he disappears again.


	20. Chapter 20

**Welcome back!**

**So...not a lot of love for Jacob last chapter. I'd like to say he will completely redeem himself but I don't want to lie to you all. I will say that sometimes to be a hero to some, you'll have to be the villain to others.**

**Confused? Well good news, this chapter is Jacob's POV! So hopefully you'll get a better understanding of his motives.**

**Thanks to all of you for your continued support of this story, every word I write is for you guys!**

**Extra special thanks to c8499145, 6-natz-9, bezybee, Kasey Jones, TheGreatKanaka, sujari6 & TwilightSVU for following either this story or me as a writer, and to Edlovesme, jansails, VioletDream13, sassygirl156, majose, madkins & elliefrog for posting more amazing reviews. Waking up to an inbox full of all your alerts is my favourite way to start the day!**

**Okay...so let's find out what Jacob's problem is shall we?**

**:-D**

JPOV

"Jacob? Jacob, did you find them?" Thomas asks as I slowly open my eyes. Without waiting for the haze in my mind to clear, I struggle to my feet and rush to the door of the hut.

"Yes, I found them," I reply. "They gave me some very important information that I must share with my father right away."

"Are you sure that is a good idea?" Thomas enquires hesitantly as he follow me back down the mountain towards our village. "He'll be angry when he finds out what we've done. You heard him, you'll be banished from the tribe for approaching those outsiders and I'll be sent away too for helping you."

As the first born sons of two if the most senior members of our tribe, Thomas Uley had been my best friend since birth. When I had decided to make contact again with the other time travellers, he had offered his assistance and put his place in the tribe at risk to make the trip up the mountain with me to our sacred ceremonial hut where the spirit rituals take place.

"He won't banish us," I say with certainty. "Not after he hears what I now know."

"And what is that?" he asks.

"I know how to save all our people," I state.

I briefly explain what I had been told by their so-called leader Edward, and about the tree that marks the spot where they made their leap through time, before the village comes into view. I don't want any other tribe members to overhear our discussion and run to tell my father before I can. After asking around, we eventually find him inside the meeting hall surrounded by the other elders.

"Father, I must speak to you in private," I say urgently. He raises his eyebrows in question while watching me suspiciously.

"Anything you have to say son, you can say in front of everyone," he says.

I take a deep breath and summon my courage. Regardless of how angry I know he will be, it is important that I tell him what I've discovered.

"Before I begin, I must insist that you hear me out before you make any rash decisions," I plead.

"I will promise you no such thing," he says dismissively. "You are in no position to make any demands. Now speak."

Predicting that that would be his response, I decide that it would be best to share what I've learnt before I tell him where the knowledge came from.

"I know how to save our decendants," I say simply. He immediately straightens his body, giving me his full attention.

"Go on," he urges.

"There is a special place nearby that has the ability to transport people through time, much like we can," I explain. My father looks around the room at the other elders. They all seem to be watching me with interest, but leaving the questions to my father as the Chief.

"Where is this place?" he asks impatiently.

"I don't know yet, but it is marked in the future by an apple tree," I admit. "The tree itself would have taken decades to grow, meaning it would be visible in our decendants time as well as the time I have visited. I intend to return to that time and find the tree."

"And if you do find this tree," he says eyeing me sceptically. "How will this help our future tribe?"

"I will continue looking for them and when I find them, they can use the magical place to transport themselves to a time after the extinction. It will give them a chance to start again."

"How do you know that this place is actually magical?" he presses. To anyone else it would seem like a simply question, but I know my father too well. He's turning the discussion into an interrogation.

He knows exactly where I got my information from. I may have broken his rules but I don't have to play his mind games.

"You know exactly how I know," I sneer, ignoring the disapproving murmurs from the other elders. "And yes, I defied your orders but I did it for the benefit of the tribe, now and in the future. I just did what any good leader would do, what you raised me to do. Protect our tribe at all costs!"

My father sits there, silently thinking over everything I've just said. I have put him in a difficult situation. If he banishes me now for doing what's right for our people, he will lose the respect of his fellow elders.

I have him backed into a corner and he knows it.

His face morphs into a deep scowl as he sighs.

"You have until the next full moon to find the location of the tree," he finally relents. I breath a sigh of relief that I won't be forced to leave my family behind and spend the rest of my days alone. Unfortunately he is not finished. "Then you must find our decendants and pass on this information. If you cannot do this, you must leave the village for good and I will find a more competent replacement. Just because you are my son doesn't mean you can get away with breaking my rules."

When he slowly turns away and begins talking to the others in harsh whispers, I take that as my not-so-subtle cue to leave.

With only weeks to accomplish my task, I can only hope that the other time travellers were being truthful.

My entire future depends on it.


	21. Chapter 21

**Hello readers!**

**WOW, almost 100 reviews so far! Thanks to everyone who's helped me get to this point.**

**Special thanks go to gutterxking & kerrionCCullen for adding this story to their favourites lists, and to madkins, "Guest", frostedglaze & jansails for their fantastic reviews. Without your support, I probably would have scraped this idea long ago.**

**Back to Edward now...**

**:-D**

EPOV

"Quick, pack everything up. We have to leave now," I shout, ignoring the dark stain on my jeans as I stuff items back in my pack. When I glance up, I notice that no-one else has moved. "What are you waiting for?"

"It's still dark," Eric complains. "Why do we have to leave yet?"

"Because if we don't leave right this second, we won't make it back to the campsite before he does," I explain as patiently as I can given the urgency of the situation.

From the moment we told Jacob about the campsite, I had a horrible feeling that he was going to betray us. He came back here pretending to offer us help but really he just wanted to find out what we knew so that he could help himself. Sure, he gave us details about the future that we could possibly use to make a difference, but it's completely useless if we can't get back to our own time.

"And why do we have to do that?" Mike asks slowly as if I'm stupid.

But I'm not stupid. He is, and I've had enough of him and his stupid attitude.

"That's it!" I yell, slamming my pack down on the ground. "I've had it with everyone questioning every decision I make. Obviously Jacob thinks there's something at the campsite that allowed us to time travel. So if he gets there first and does actually find something, he could trap us here permanently. Is that what you all want? To be stuck here? If so, fine. I wish you luck. If not, then pack your things because I'm leaving with or without you guys!"

By the time I've finish my rant, I'm breathing heavily but I actually feel better. The rest of the however look completely stunned.

Except for Bella...

Who looks...violently angry?

Huh?

"What's your problem, Edward?" she hisses. "You're acting like a class-A jerk!"

"So...what? I'm allowed to stick up you but not myself?" I ask defensively. I know I sound rude but I'm more than a little hurt that she's not on my side.

She quickly jumps to her feet, her arms still crossed across her chest. Now that she's not covered by the sleeping bag, I'm more than a little distracted by the way her folded arms are practically pushing her boobs towards me. Thank god that the others have taken my advice and left us alone to start packing their things because I don't think I'll be able to stop myself from diving head-first into them.

Apparently Bella has other ideas though.

"Oh yeah, you really stood up for me," she says. "Where were you when that neanderthal Jacob was calling me woman and telling me to shut up? You really defended my honor then, didn't you?"

I don't understand what she's talking about, I didn't say any-...oh...

Sarcasm...got it.

"Okay, I know. I'm sorry," I say softly. "But to be fair, he is from a different time. So he migh-"

"Are you seriously defending him?" she shouts.

"No, no of course not. I'm sorry," I plead. "I should've said something, that was wrong of me. But I'm not apologising for snapping at everyone earlier. They chose me to be the leader so they should just do what I say."

"Really?" Bella asks incredulously before shaking her head. "You know what? Just forget it."

She turns away from me and stomps off towards the building that Alice and Jasper were staying in.

"Are you still angry with me?" I call after her. She said to forget it but she still doesn't seem very happy. She lets out a frustrated scream but doesn't turn around or stop walking.

Girls are so confusing.

I roll up our sleeping bag and mat, and by the time I've done a quick check of the area to make sure we didn't leave anything behind, everyone is waiting outside again.

"Edward?" Laurent begins hesitantly. "What about the Emmett and the others?"

"What about them?" I ask, hauling my pack onto my back.

"Are we going to go find them before we head to the campsite?"

His question makes me more than a little uncomfortable. If we leave them behind, there is a good chance that they won't survive in this time, but if we go looking for them now, we may all be stuck here.

There's really only one option.

"We don't have time," I sigh.

"We can't just leave them here!" Jessica shrieks. "They're our friends."

"No they're your friends, not mine," I snap. "And honestly, they didn't really put up much of a fight when you decided to come with us instead of them. So why do you really care?"

"Because they're going to die," she sobs.

"If we waste time looking for them, we're all going to die," I explain slowly. Why can't anyone understand how serious our situation is? "I'm sorry, but it's the truth."

"It's not fair," Jessica cries. "They're good people, they don't deserve this."

I laugh.

I can't help it. My new attitude has given me a new perspective on how I was treated by the jocks at school, Emmett in particular.

I wasn't part of their jokes, I was the joke.

And they weren't messing around, they were bullying me and my friends.

"They were not nice people," I laugh. Everyone stares at me with wide eyes and a few even gasp, probably shocked that I would speak out against the popular crowd. "They were bullies that made life a living hell for a lot of people. So if we have to sacrifice them to save ourselves, then so be it. I, for one, couldn't care less if I ever saw them again!"

"Nice to see you too, Cullen."


	22. Chapter 22

**Hello!**

**Uh...hello?**

**I'm so so sorry for not updating in so long. One of the problems with having a business that sell handmade products, is that you actually have to make the handmade products. So thank you all for being incredibly patient.**

**Great news! This story has now passed the 100 review mark (123 to be exact)! My next goal is over 164 for the entire story, which will beat the amount I received for Here I Am. We've still got quite a few chapters left in this story so I'm hopeful.**

**Massive thanks to boowip for fav'ing, MeBHop & for following and to BelleBiter (super sorry for spelling it wrong last time :-( ), VioletDream13, jansails, madkins, leegee123, Edlovesme & delilahdean for all your reviews. You are all by far the greatest readers in the world and I honestly couldn't do this without you guys.**

**This chapter is short but I'm writing it during a quick break between pieces. When I get more free time, I'll write more.**

**:-D**

EPOV

Karma.

It has to be karma.

The moment I finally assert myself and start ordering the others around, someone has to come along and put me back in my place.

Unfortunately that someone is Emmett.

Like I said...karma.

Now my options are fairly limited. I could casually walk away and hope he didn't notice me...standing right in front of him...trash talking him...

Yeah, that's highly unlikely.

Or I could do the responsible thing. Face him like a man and stand behind my comments. Sure he could kill me but I'm certain a small part of him would actually respect me for being brave enough to take whatever punishment he delivers. I would be an honorable way to die, right?

I choose option three.

Before he can say another word, I'm off and running as fast as my legs can carry me. Sadly, because my entire exercise regime centres around my Xbox, I barely make it to the end of the block before my lanky body begins to let me down. My lungs are burning and I feel like I'm about to have a heart attack.

Maybe I should've taken off my pack first.

"What are you doing, Edward?" Jasper calls from back down the street. I look behind me, expecting to see a hoard of angry jocks hot on my heels but there no-one there. Well not right behind me anyway. They're all still standing exactly where they were before. And they're all laughing.

Laughing at my cowardice...

Laughing at my abysmal display of physical prowess...

Laughing at me.

Defeated, I stop running. Apparently now that Emmett's returned, the natural order has been restored and I'm back where to being the butt of their jokes. I knew this new found respect wouldn't last forever.

Now I just want to go home.

I miss my mom. I miss her hugs and how she always smelled like flowers and freshly baked cookies.

I miss my dad and his well-meaning advice and lame jokes.

I miss my room and my bed. And my books and my video games.

I miss my life.

I watch the others for a few minutes. They're not laughing at me anymore, they're not even looking in my direction, but they're still smiling.

They look happy.

And maybe they are. Maybe they like living in this time. Maybe I'm the only one who wants to go home. I unclip my pack and drop it on the ground. They'll need it more than I will.

I'll miss my best friend.

I'll miss my maybe-girl.

I'll even miss my annoying twin sister.

But I can't stay here and I can't make them leave if they don't want to.

I know that they'll be fine. Finding food won't be a problem, there are plenty of animals around to hunt and gardens overrun with fruits and vegetables, and, with a surplus of alpha males and healthy females, I'm sure they'll have no trouble repopulating the world. It could be a utopian paradise for them.

But not for me.

I quietly raise my hand to bid them farewell but no-one seems to notice. So without another word, I turn and continue on my way to the campsite.

And hopefully, home.

**Now don't be too hard on Edward, okay? Sometimes some people need the validation of other to be able to believe in themselves. He's not pulling a Jacob, I promise.**

**:-D**


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